Water valve



Sept. 2, 1941.

A. J. NICHOLAS WATER VALVE Filed Feb. 17, 1939 60 y QnJrea/ /7/ Patented Sept. 2, 1941 WATER VALVE Andrew J. Nicholas, Springiield, Mass., assignor to Westinghouse Electric a Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation oi' Pennsylvania Application February 17, 1939, Serial No. 256,892

Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration apparatus and more especially to the bubbler heads of water coolers. r-

One object of the invention is to provide a bubbler valve mechanism which is smooth in operation.

Another object is to provide a bubbler valve mechanism which can be operatedvdirectly by iinger pressure. y A further object is to provide a bubbler nozzle adjacent a control valve which nozzle provides a clear non-turbulent stream of water of moderate velocity.

These and other objects are elected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. l is a view in perspective of the bubbler head of this invention mounted upon a water cooler;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the bubbler head of Fig. 1 with the valve mechanism in the closed position;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line III--III of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a partial section of the bubbler head showing the valve mechanism in a partially open position;

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section of the bubbler head showing the valve mechanism in a more fully open position;

Fig. 6 is a partial vertical section ofthe bubbler head showing the valve mechanism in the fully open position; and,

Fig. 1 is a modification of the valve mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

Referring specifically to the drawing for a e detailed description of the invention, reference numeral I0 designates a bubbler head mounted on a water cooler II. The bubbler head I0 com prises a casing I2 provided With two circular seats I3 and I4.and a threaded portion I5, which engage, respectively, two circular shoulders I6 and I1 and a threaded portion I8 of a spindle housing I9. The spindle housing I9 contains the valve mechanism of the bubbler head I0. A gasket 2I is provided between the seat I3 and the shoulder I6 and another gasket is provided between the seat I4 and the shoulder I1 to render the joints Water-tight.

The spindle housing I9 has a central vertical passage therethrough with a chamfer at its base forming a valve seat 23. A cylindrical valve member 24 of the mushroom type engages the valve seat 23 of the spindle housing. The valve housing and the other of which forms the valve seat on the base of the valve member 24. A mushroom type valve head 29 engages the valve seat 25 and has a valve stem 3| passing* upwardly through the valve member 24 and through the spindle housing I9. Thel valve stem 3I is threaded at its upper end, and an actuating knob 32 is screwed thereon. y

The spindle housing I9 comprises an upper member 33 and a lower member 34 in screw threaded engagement, which members clamp the lower edge 35 of a tubular and corrugated rubber bellows element 36 and a washer 31 between them. The upper edge 38 of the rubber bellows 36 is clamped between a gasket 39 below the actuating knob 32 and a cylindrical nut 4I which also engages the screw threads of the valve stem 3I. A helical compression spring 42 encircles the valve stem 3| and bears against the lower mem.- ber 34 of the spindle housing I9 and the cylindrical nut 4I, thereby urging the valve stem 3| and all elements connected thereto in an upward direction. The rubber bellows 36 forms a flexible seal between the Valve stern 3I and the spindle housing I9. The spring 42 draws the valve members upwardly to close both the valve formed by the valve head 29 and the valve member 24, and the valve formed by the lower edge of the spindle housing I9 and the valve member 24. The upper face of the valve member 24 is cut at an angle and a collar 44 is secured to the valve stem slightly above the valve member The water enters the casing under pressure through a threaded inlet opening 45 by means of which the bubbler head may be screwed to a supply pipe (not shown). 'I'he inlet opening 45 communicates with the interior of the casing through two intersecting ducts 46 and 41 at the intersection of which is a flow regulating element comprising a rotatable pin 48 housed in a slot I4 in the head by means'of which the pin 48 can be rotated. The collar Il oi the pin 48 is secured in place by a threaded ferrule Il which engages cooperating threads in an enlargement o! the duct 48 and clamps the collar U8 against a gasket Il adjacent the casing I2, thereby locking the collar Il and the pin 4B in an immovable and leak-proof position in the duct 49. The ierrule 55 is also provided with slots 5l by means of which it may be rotated.

The function of the mechanism as thus far described is as follows: Assumeathat the bubbler head Il is connected to the end of a supply pipe carrying water under pressure. and the various valves of the bubbler are closed. As the actuating knob 32 is depressed slightly, the valve head 2l leaves its seat 25 and a small quantity of water will ilow through the central passage in the valve member 24. This position is shown in Fig. 4. The ilow of water through the valve member 24 partially relieves the water premure between the valve mechanism and the flow restrictor 44. As the actuating knob 32 is further depressed, the collar 44 strikes the upper edge of the valve member 24 and tilts it on its seat 2! as shown in Fig. 5. It will be noted that the movement of the valve member 24 is not opposed by the full pressure of the water in the pipe as the pressure has already been relieved by the opening, oi the valve head 2i. 'Ihe tilting ofthe valve member 24 results in an additional stream of water nowing around the valve member 24 and of a further reduction oi pressure between the valve mechanism and the ilow restricting valve. A further downwardmovement oi' the actuating knob 32 moves the valve member 24 downwardly against the now greatly reduced water pressure beneath thevalve and the full stream o! water will commence to tlow through the valve vmechanism limited only by the restrictor 4l. This position of the valve is shown in Fig. 6.

The water flows through lateral openings 58 in the spindle housing I9 into the hollow interior of the bubbler casing I2. This casing is generally of the shape of a rectangular block, one vertical wall of which, however, is rounded. The wall opposite the rounded wall has an impressed portion Il in the lower portion of which a nozzle l2 is inserted in a manner to throw a stream of water obliquely upward. The particular depressed portion GI and nozzle 62 is designed to comply with health regulations which require that the nozzle \be sheltered by an overhanging portion to prevent contaminatingmatter from dropping vertically into the nozzle.

With such a construction, the mouth of the person using the bubbler must of necessity be placed at some distance from the nozzle, and to facilitate the drinking, it is essential that the nozzle throw a solid and steady stream of water and one that preferably is clear. In unitary structures, such as applicants, this flow is diiilcult to obtair as the valve mechanism is close to the nozzle and sets up a turbulence in the iiow of water which tends to cause a stream issuing from the nozzle to separate into drops and slugs of water which are unsightly and make drinking didlcult.

In applicants device, this tendency of the stream to divide, is counteracted by the particular entrance opening in the nozzle and the particular chamber into which the entrance of the nozzle projects. This chamber B3 comprises a cavity having a large entrance opening B4 above the bottom 65 of the cavity into which the nozzle 62 projects at approximately right angles to the entering flow oi water. The entrance opening il of the nozzle 62 is cut at an angle so that a lip 61 extends in a direction to shield the entrance opening i6 of the nozzle I2 from the entering ilow of water. The reason why this structure produces a clear and steady stream of water is not completely understood. It was found, however, that if the entrance 68 to the nozzle t2 is cut squarely on is sloped in the opposite direction from that shown, a turbulent ilow oi water,

results. It was further found that variations in the shape of the bottom 65 of the chamber 63 have little influence on the form of the stream, but thatthe edges of the chamber 63 adjacent to the entrance i6 of. the nozzle 62 are preferably rounded. The plugs 6l and 69 are closure devices which are required for structural reasons.

Fig. 'l shows a moditlcationof the valve mechanism. 'Ihe valve member 'Il and the valve stem 12 correspond in function to the valve member 24 and valve stem 3l in Fig. 2. The upper surface of the valve member 'H is horizontal and the valve stem has a projecting finger 13 secured above the valve member 'Ii which finger 'I3 tilts the valve member I i on its seat much in the same manner as the valve mechanism previously described.

From the above, it will be apparent that this invention provides a bubbler head having a ilow restricting valve, an actuating valve, and a nozzle in one unitary structure which emits a clear stream of water at moderate velocity and comprises a smooth operating valve which may be actuated by finger pressure without any intervening leverage.

While I have shown' my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modiilcations with- .out .departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth-in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a valve, the combination of aplurality oi coaxial valve members seated upon one another and adapted to be independently operated, a stemon the central valve member for moving it from its seat, and means on said stem for tilting the valve member adjacent the central valve member on its seat using a portion of said seat as a fulcrum after moving the central valve member from its seat.

2. In a valve, the combination of a plurality of coaxial valve members comprising a valve seat, a valve head for said seat, a second valve seat, said second valve seat being located in said valve head, a second valve head, said second valve head cooperating with said second valve seat. and means operative when said valve is in the closed position against iluid pressure for moving one of said valve heads from its seat and tilting the other of said valve heads on its seat to provide a passage for said iluid between only a portion of said last-named valve head and valve seat.

3. In a valve, the combination oi a valve seat and a plurality of coaxial valve members, at least one of which comprises a second seat for another of said members, and common means for actuating said valve members, said means being secured to one oi said members and adapted to engage another oi said membersfto exert a force directed mainly at one edge of the valve member, said last-named member being free to pivot on one portion of its valve seat under said force.

4. In a valve, the combination of a casing, a valve seat in said casing, a valve head adapted to cooperate with said valve seat, an opening in said valve head providing a second valve seat, a second valve head adapted to cooperate with said second valve seat, an actuating rod secured to said second valve head and biased to urge the same on said second valve seat, said rod passing through the opening in the first-named valve head, said rod being smaller than said opening, said actuating rod engaging said first-named valve head adjacent one edge thereof to exert a force to tilt said first-named valve head on one edge of its seat and thereafter move said rstnamed valve head completely from its seat, said projection being positioned on said rod to effect said tilting after said second-named valve head is moved from its seat. i

5. In a valve, the combination of a casing, a valve seat in said casing, a valve head adapted to cooperate with said valve seat, an opening in said valve head providing a second valve seat, a projection on said valve head on one side of said opening and extending in the direction of the closing movement of said valve head, a second valve head adapted to cooperate with said second valve seat, an actuating rod secured to said second valve head and urged to bias said second valve head on said second valve seat, said rod passing through the opening in the rst-named valve head and being substantially smaller than said opening, said second valve seat being so positioned on said first-named valve head that said second-named valve head biases said first-named valve head on its seat, said actuating rod having a collar formed thereon and adapted to engage the projection formed on said rst-named valve head aftervthe second-named valve head leaves said second-named seat to tilt said rst-named valve head on one edge ofits valve seat and upon further movement of said actuating rod to completely remove said first-named valve head from its valve seat. 

